Wither Rising
by fseftr
Summary: With the Enderdragon killed, Steve thinks peace has been ensured. But, what if he was wrong? What if the Enderdragon was guarding something much, much worse? It's obvious what it is from the title... but nevermind that. R&R. T just in case. Updates whenever. Little editing.
1. Chapter 1

"…A mistake. It…will wake…wither …will rise…doom… nears.", and with those words, the Enderdragon breathed its last. Soon after, its body slowly rose up, and dissolved into thousands of experience orbs. Steve was rattled, but he returned home with his reward.

Nightmares filled Steve's dreams. He woke up in a very bad mood. Even as he was putting enchantments on his tools, Steve didn't feel happy. He should have been overjoyed! Enchanting things was always fun for him… and he just beat the toughest enemy in all of Minecraft! But… what that enemy told him had haunted him this past day.

"Wither…rising?" he wondered out loud. What in the world was a Wither? He decided to go to the village library and do some research. "Hey Destiny, I'm here to use the library", Steve said as he walked past the villager in the white robe

"Oh, hey Steve. If you need help just shout. But you should know this place pretty well by now!" she replied cheerfully. Steve walked over to the crafting table and casually moved it aside. With a quick wave, he descended down the ladder.

Soon, he entered a torch lit room. Steve had fond memories of this place. He remembered being at the opening ceremony with the mayor like it was yesterday. In fact… it might have been yesterday, but probably not. Probably. Steve didn't have the best memory. And he often walked into people while daydreaming, which is exactly what happened then.

"Steve", Justin said curtly. Steve replied likewise, "Justin." They were good friends… until last year that was. It was some juvenile spat, Steve didn't even remember what had caused it. They would have made up, but they had both managed to persuade themselves they were better off without the other.

Soon enough, Steve forgot about Justin as he looked through the bookshelves. Apples...Gold… Netherrack… Porkchop… Once he reached the Ws, Steve sighed. The only books there were the ones about water… Wait! What was this book in the back? It must have been newly donated. The title…_Wither Skeletons: Lore and Location. _A lead!

He would have to read this book thoroughly, but first, he needed to sit in his favourite chair. Steve looked outside. Perfect! It was nearing evening; he could move his chair to the porch and drink a bottle of night vision. Ah, a book, his favourite chair, a bottle of night vision, and the sunset. He became happier just thinking about it.

Steve walked back humming happily! When suddenly… BOOM!


	2. Chapter 2

"Uhhh… What just happened?" Steve asked as he got up and wiped the dust off his hands and onto his pants. "I think… it was a landmine…" replied Destiny as she emerged from the gaping hole in the side of the library.

Suddenly, a villager in armour turned the corner, "A landmine? Don't be an idiot, Destiny! The last zombie siege was years ago! All of them were either stepped on by zombies, disabled, or blew some unfortunate villager to bits. I counted myself. We made 25, 12 were stepped on, 9 were disabled, and 4 blew up on idiots! But, you're still alive, natural selection failed again!"

"Nice to see you too, Patrick", Destiny replied sarcastically while wiping spit off her face with her sleeve. Steve gave her a small smile, but that did not go unpunished. "And you, Steve! I expected better from you! For Notch's sake, you're from the once great race of humans! You would have disgraced them, being hit by this trap! Disgrace!" raged Patrick

Steve wasn't paying attention, instead he was looking around and thought out loud, "Say… I wonder where that book flew off to?" Destiny looked concerned, "Which book?" Steve looked back at her and replied, "The one about wither skeletons." Destiny frowned, "_Wither Skeletons: Lore and Location_? I'm afraid we only have one of those. If you don't find it, I'll try to get another copy. But it's only a legend anyways"

Now Steve understood the frown, the budget was tight this year because they had financed his trip to the End. While the reward was worth it, they would be low on gold for until the miners returned next month. "Well, I'll tell you if I find it", he said as he returned home.

He walked home glumly, it was late now. He yawned as he stepped on his porch. When he entered his house, it was bright. "Hello, Steve." A voice came from his couch. "Justin? Why are you in my house?" replied Steve sleepily.

"We need to talk", replied Justin seriously. "It's midnight! Can't this wait until tomorrow? You may be a night owl, but I need my rest", responded Steve annoyedly. Justin answered, "Sorry Steve, but we need to talk now. Besides, I think you'll be interested in learning what the Enderdragon meant!"


	3. Chapter 3

Justin looked at Steve's look of confusion, awe, and worry. He took out several books and put them on Steve's table: _The Birth of the Wither, The Story of Notch and Herobrine: How Two Brothers Defeated the Wither, The Wither's Aftermath: De-evolution to Testificates and the Corruption of Nether Skeletons, Wither Skeletons: Lore and Location, Herobrine's Safeguards:_ _Nether Fortresses and the End, _and _Zombie Pigmen: The Cursed Wither Supporters_

"You're wondering how I got the book you lost in the explosion. The Wither caused that explosion." said Justin as he pulled out something from his backpack, "You don't believe me do you? Well, look at this."

"What is that?" asked Steve. He was looking at a black cube with three lines across it. Justin replied sadly, "That… is a wither skeleton skull. One of the casualties in the latest pigmen siege, his final wish was to be used to persuade you to join our cause."

"Pigmen siege? And what cause are you talking about?"

"This is a long story… I'll start from the beginning. No interruptions please. About a hundred years ago, the Wither was created in a freak lab accident. It went on a rampage through the capital and killed the greatest warriors in the empire. As a last resort, messengers were sent to Notch's mountain school and Herobrine's massive nether fortress. Notch came to slay the monster, while Herobrine stayed in the Nether to work his magic. He summoned the great Enderdragon and gave him a massive army of teleporting creatures called endermen. Notch rode on this dragon, and with the help of the army knocked the Wither unconscious. However, its death caused many side effects: 90% of the population devolved into Testificates, the Wither's followers became zombie pigmen and were banished to the Nether, and the Wither's power was spread amongst a new species: the wither skeletons. Herobrine protected these skeletons in his fortress. However, the Wither could not be killed outright. Herobrine trapped it in another dimension. He sculpted this dimension into a single floating island and placed the wither deep inside. Herobrine gave this dimension to the ender dragon and his endermen. Herobrine helped the endermen created magical pillars to steal the Wither's regenerating power and give it to their ruler. The pigmen have been assaulting the fortresses nonstop to kill the wither skeletons and release the Wither's power, but that only made the Enderdragon stronger."

"But with no Enderdragon now, what happens?"

"No interruptions. Now that's the problem. With no Enderdragon, the Wither has suddenly become infinitely more powerful, and it doesn't even have a quarter of its power yet. It caused the explosion that destroyed your copy of the book. It can cause explosions across dimensions, can you imagine what would happen if it escaped? It views you as a threat and if it views you as a threat, you need to join our side. We need to stop the pigmen and eventually defeat the Wither"

"How do I know you're not lying?"

"Well, get some sleep first. I'll show you can trust me tomorrow," and with that, Justin walked out. Steve went to sleep, far too tired to think about what Justin said.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Well, I'm doing these now. So yeah…**

**This and the next chapter are being published at the same time; I just wanted to split them up because of the natural ending spot. **

There was someone knocking on Steve's door. He slowly woke up and turned toward the door. He yawned while saying, "Just a minute." He quickly got up, got dressed, grabbed a piece of bread, and opened the door.

"Oh, hey Justin… I guess you're here to persuade me?"

"No, no I'm not."

"Huh?"

"That would be my cousin's job."

"Your cousin?"

"Yeah. Where is she? She was supposed to meet me beforehand."

"Allison is your cousin?"

"Yeah… You know her?"

"This is a small village, Justin. I know everyone."

"Hey Steve!" said a new voice from behind Justin.

"There you are. Finally!" complained Justin.

"Good to see you too," replied Allison sarcastically.

"I hate to interrupt your family reunion… but how about coming inside and getting your attempt at persuasion done with?"

"I'm not here to persuade you of the truth, I'm here to persuade you to follow us so you can learn the truth from someone else. Justin! Walk faster!" replied Alison while they walked inside Steve's house.

"Sorry, I need to talk to this messenger first," replied Justin pointing outside to an official looking villager heading toward him.

"Someone else?" said Steve.

"Our teacher… he should be at our local base. We leave tomorrow."

"Wait a minute! I never agreed to any of this."

Justin walked back in, "I need to leave, the pigmen are moving out. I'll meet you two at the local portal in a week if all goes well. If it doesn't… well, let's not think about that."

Alison nodded and turned back to Steve "Oh, come on… why not? It's not like I would or could kill you or anything. Just humour me. I'll give you a free diamond if you still don't believe me afterwards."

"Well… fine…I'll go along with this. I have nothing better to do anyways. If you are tricking me, well, a free diamond would be nice. Alright… where are we going?"

"Pack your stuff first. Maybe read some of the books Justin left with you. We leave tomorrow."

Steve packed all his best items: he brought armour, weapons, food, ore blocks, buckets, and anything else he could think of. He decided to bring his dog, Sam, as well. After he had packed everything, he grabbed some night vision, went onto his porch, and started reading the book that looked the most interesting: _The Story of Notch and Herobrine: How Two Brothers Defeated the Wither_

**A/N: I didn't really like how Justin was now. So, I got rid of him for a while. **


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: This chapter is going to be published at the same time as the previous one.**

"Steve! We need to leave now!" yelled Alison as she barged into Steve's room in full diamond armour.

"Can't this wait? It's six in the morning…" yawned Steve as he fell back asleep.

"Steve! There's a zombie siege not five minutes from here. This can't be a coincidence; we need to fight our way out."

"Just some zombies… no big deal."

"If I hadn't woken up early, the entire village would've been slaughtered in their sleep. I woke most of them up a couple minutes earlier, but you obviously didn't hear me."

"I heard you, I just assumed it was part of my dream."

"Whatever. Get your stuff. They're setting up defenses, but they won't have enough time. What do you want to do? Help or run for the base?"

"That isn't a choice. I grew up in this village, I'm staying and fighting."

"Fine, but if the village is overwhelmed we run, deal?"

"…deal," Steve slowly decided.

"Great," Alison said as she ran out the door.

Steve quickly grabbed his things and ran out. "Holy…" exclaimed Steve as he saw the largest horde of zombies he had ever seen. Steve went over to the defenses. It was a basic cobble stone wall, only one thick and three high. Only a few landmines were operational. Villagers were lining up at the blacksmith's to get equipped. Steve said to no one particular, "Not good, we aren't going to be ready."

"This is why we should always be prepared," said a voice suddenly.

Steve jumped, "Don't… don't do that, Patrick."

"What? You should be aware of your surroundings! How did you ever manage to defeat the Enderdragon?" asked Patrick.

Steve quickly left Patrick and went to the wall. The zombies were less than a minute away. He took out his bow and started firing. He had always preferred the sword though, so he missed some of his shots.

He looked down the wall. Most of the village was shooting, but there seemed to be no end to the horde. They were less than 30 seconds away. "Iron Golems!" the village strategist yelled. And within five seconds, ten iron golems had been built in front of the wall.

The zombies arrived. Iron golems destroyed the front line as archers helped them. However, the horde continued. Golems began to take damage as the archers ran out of arrows. The archers moved out with their swords. Steve killed a zombie with each swing, sometimes two zombies. His dog mauled a zombie that was sneaking up on Steve. His allies were not as skilled though. He saw Destiny get bitten and turned into a zombie. Villagers and golems were dying, even with splash potions of healing raining on the battlefield, but it looked like the village would win. The horde thinned out, and the zombies retreated out of archer range with a couple dozen left. All the uninjured villagers went forward to finish them off.

"Alright, let's get out of here," Alison said as she walked toward Steve.

"Okay, which way?"

"South."

"Then let's go"

The two walked to the south side of the village where they saw a couple dozen zombies charging towards the town. "The villagers will be surrounded! We have to hold this side," exclaimed Steve.

"Steve… this is a forty versus two…"

"No, it's forty versus three," Steve responded as his dog caught up.

"You're an idiot… but I have to bring you to our base alive. So let's get this done with," complained Alison as she drew her bow and one-shot a zombie.

"Impressive," said Steve as he missed.

"No, you just suck."

"Less talking, more killing."

Steve attacked the first zombie and killed him, but the zombies swooped around to attack him. Despite Alison's constant sniping, Steve and his dog were surrounded within a minute. More zombies arrived from the east, and Steve could not kill quickly enough to escape the horde. Alison put away her bow, ran in, and threw several potions of instant health at the battle, killing enough zombies and healing Steve enough for them to retreat behind the zombies. As Steve recovered, Alison looked back at the village, "Uh, Steve. There's no way we can save the village… let's go."

Steve turned around; the village was surrounded by more than a hundred zombies. He thought for a while somberly before saying, "Alright… let's go… Come on, Sa-"

"Sorry, Steve… I didn't splash him in time."

"Not your fault… Mine…"

**A/N: Justin will return for the next chapter**


End file.
